The present invention relates to the field of food heating and display apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus adapted to simultaneously heat and display food products which are produced and sold on sticks.
One of the advantages of providing food products on a stick is that they can thus be dispensed to the consumer without providing a container or wrapper. In addition, they can be eaten by the consumer without utensils and without getting messy fingers.
An example of a food product on a stick is the corn dog. The corn dog is a popular food product which consists of a hot dog, or similar wiener or sausage type product, which has been impaled on a stick, dipped in a corn meal based batter and then deep fat fried. Typically, corn dogs are sold by establishments which are equipped with a deep fat frier. Such establishments can either buy regular hot dogs and then dip them in their own batter just prior to frying, or they can buy pre-dipped corn dogs which are usually frozen.
Alternatively, establishments which are not equipped with a deep fat fryer can offer corn dogs on their menu by purchasing corn dogs which have already been deep fat fried by the food manufacturer and then frozen for shipment. Such pre-fried corn dogs can be prepared for consumption by heating them to the desired serving temperature in a microwave or conventional oven.
Another example of a wiener type product, which is sometimes referred to as a "pig in a blanket," consists of a hot dog which is encased in a bread or biscuit dough and then cooked, either by deep fat frying or in an oven. Yet another example of a food product that is amenable to being served on a stick is the shish kebob, i.e. pieces of meat with vegetables and/or fruit which are cooked together on a skewer.